The Top 10 Best Horror Games To Play This Halloween

The cozy corner of the horror genre seems to have exploded overnight, and now tons of new slice-of-life horror games are in various stages of development. That said, the team behind newcomer The Village in the Shade is no stranger to the form; they made the Yomawari series, a cute-and-terrifying collection of creepy virtual tales. The Village in the Shade takes things back to the homestead, giving you (a child who emerged from a hole in the ground and was immediately given the responsibility of running an entire farm by yourself) the freedom to plant, sow, reap, ranch, and more. Just follow the important rules: don't go out at night, don't share secrets, and don't leave the village among others. You wouldn't want to break the rules, right? You could, theoretically, go about your idyllic rural living. But as you unravel the threads of what this village is, who you are, and why you're here, it's hard not to get drawn into the strange, mysterious, delightfully disturbing truths hiding in its shadows. Just don't forget to water your turnips before you go sneaking out again.

Fans of survival horror and old-school FMV adventure games will find plenty to love (and fear) in Tenebris Somnia. When a young woman visits her ex-boyfriend’s apartment and discovers he's trapped in a hellish dream world, it kicks off a well-executed survival-horror trek of inventive puzzles and resource management to overcome dangerous monsters. High-production, live-action cutscenes help tell the story of a deteriorating relationship and the toll an indie horror film took on its creators, and they play an important role in gameplay. Tenebris Somnia may not look like much due to its classic pixelated presentation, but its scares and story captivate. – Our Review

Resident Evil Requiem is not just one of the best Resident Evil games, but it’s also one of the best horror games ever made. It features a unique dual-protagonist structure. Grace Ashcroft is timid, new to the whole “shooting zombies in the head while dealing with Umbrella viruses” thing, and is generally just trying to do her job. Leon S. Kennedy, however, is a veteran of all that and more. Requiem splits its runtime between the two characters, letting you experience both sides of Capcom’s marquee survival-horror style. Grace’s sections leave your hands clammy and your blood pressure high as you desperately try to survive. Leon’s sections leave your hands shaking with adrenaline and your blood pumping with excitement as he mows down zombies (sometimes literally, courtesy of those pesky chainsaws). The result is a Resident Evil game that blends two typical RE experiences – terrifying and tough or exhilarating over-the-top action – into one cohesive package. It’s perfect for someone who wants to feel scared and then soon after receive the catharsis of being the one in control, like being the tragic victim who dies in Act One of the horror movie and the last one standing who lives to tell the tale. – Our Review

Little Nightmares developer Tarsier Studios has a knack for delivering creepy side-scrolling adventures, but Reanimal eschews any whimsy to become its scariest game yet. While mechanically it is similar to Little Nightmares and still puts small children in unimaginable peril, Reanimal is capital-H horror thanks largely to its terrifying threats and disturbing animal-themed imagery (this probably isn’t the game for animal lovers; some messed-up stuff happens to these critters). Escaping the game’s island setting is thrilling and chilling whether you’re playing alone or with a friend in co-op. Months after release, we’re still thinking about Reanimal’s memorable final sequence, which is worth the price of admission on its own. – Our Review

2001’s Silent Hill 2 is considered one of the best horror video games of all time for good reason. At release, it was a graphical powerhouse, using the PlayStation 2's horsepower to create a setting that begged to be explored, even though every bone in your body said you shouldn’t. The remake from developer Bloober Team took on a big task in modernizing the game without losing the original’s soul, and it did a great job. Among all the recent Silent Hill releases (Silent Hill f, Silent Hill: Townfall), the remake is our favorite. The story of James Sunderland and his troubling relationship with his departed wife is complex, emotional, and – important for the purposes of this list – unsettling and scary. – Our Review

Alan Wake 2 is an excellent pick for some spooky madness, in the vein of David Lynch’s seminal Twin Peaks mystery-surrealist series. Don’t worry too much about the “2” part of the game’s title. You just need to know that the titular Alan Wake character is a not-great writer who acts like he’s really great, his wife is missing, and he got trapped in the ambiguous Dark Place. He’s only one half of the Alan Wake 2 equation, with his segments set in a dream-like version of New York City. Playing as him feels the most Twin Peaks-y. The other half is Saga, a police officer who arrives in the Pacific Northwest town of Bright Falls to investigate a murder that might be linked to a cult. You can expect more traditional survival-horror gameplay from her. But this is still a Remedy Entertainment game, and without spoiling anything, it goes places. And along the way, you can expect plenty of scares. Turn the lights down low (or off), light a candle, and sit back and enjoy one of Remedy’s best games. – Our Review 

Square Enix has gone two-for-two with its Paranormasight series, an anthology of stories about the strange and occult. And while the more recent Mermaid's Curse is a brilliant tale all its own, the first entry – The Seven Mysteries of Honjo – brings significantly more scares. A group of people in the city of Honjo find themselves caught in a spectral battle royale, using powerful objects and conditions to curse one another, with the allure of a prize at the end. Its magic isn't just in the flowchart timeline, where you can hop between different perspectives and protagonists to see how events play out from every angle, but also in the gorgeous stereoscopic environments and narrative puzzles. Adventure games are a classic genre, and Paranormasight will remind you of what the genre is capable of the moment you slowly spin your camera around, your eyes peeking out from behind your fingers. 

Survival horror can contain multitudes, and as the years have worn on, the genre has grown to encompass a wide range of action-combat mechanics. Signalis feels like a re-centering in that respect. It's an isometric survival-horror indie project from developer rose-engine, filled with clever puzzles, scarce resources, limited inventory slots, and looming, oppressive dread. As the Replika unit Elster, you delve deep into a remote complex filled with horrors and monsters, searching for something, or someone, waiting down below. While love for classic horror games and other hallmarks of genre fiction will certainly draw you in, the stylish presentation and devastatingly human core will keep you forging ahead to the finale. Once you've breached the surface of Signalis' retro-future super-structures, you won't be able to turn back.

In horror movies, audiences often groan at a protagonist for putting themselves in seemingly grave danger just to learn more about a cursed amulet or bloodthirsty killer. But in Immortality, you are the protagonist, and despite a lingering sense that you shouldn't be digging into the archives of these abandoned films, each eerie new scene makes you want to dive deeper. It's a game about Marisa Marcel, an actress who almost starred in three movies in the late 20th century, but has since disappeared. None of the movies were ever released due to mysterious circumstances, but you have access to the archived, unedited live-action footage, including behind-the-scenes conversations. By scrubbing through footage, you can select people or items in each scene and jump to random footage from any other movie that includes the same person or item. The approach to puzzle-solving is unique and keeps you appropriately disoriented. The mystery at the center is an unsettling treat to unravel, and scary in new and unexpected ways. Immortality is one of a kind and an easy recommendation for horror fans who want to try something a little different.

In the decade since launch, Dead by Daylight has continued to succeed, thanks to a dedicated (and newcomer-friendly) fanbase and its towering roster of original and licensed personas from across pop culture horror. The asymmetrical multiplayer title has become an anthology of horror’s biggest faces, including Freddy Krueger, Ghostface, Pyramid Head, and even the Xenomorph. Whether you play as a Survivor, trying to escape all manner of nightmare locations through stealth and cunning, or as a Killer, whose experience feels more like a hunting club, you’ll understand why Dead by Daylight has become a recurring destination for fans of the gruesome and bizarre. 

Read about the making of Dead by Daylight and how it sunk its teeth into millions of players in our six-page exclusive feature in Issue 368 (p. 42), available in our magazine archive to anyone with a free Game Informer account.